Page 75 of Forbidden Heroes

The answer is obvious. Her.

The bite of fire roaring through me has ignited every cell in my body. I want more of her. I can still smell her orgasm in the cab of the truck, and it has my dick fighting for release and my balls drawing up tight. It’s going to be a long ass night.

I pull into my driveway and kill the engine in a bit of a haze on how we got here. How can one little sweet thing like her cause so much inner chaos? I look at her and feel a spot in my chest warm. What the hell has she done to me?

“This way,” I say with little emotion, reaching up and helping her from the cab. She’s half my size when her feet hit the loose gravel of the driveway and when her hand settles into mine, it’s shaking and triggers a deep-seated need to calm her.

I don’t expect the overprotectiveness that grips my guts and hits me full force. A wrecking ball has more finesse, honestly. It takes all I have not to bend and pull her into my arms and tell her the world is not as scary as she may think and that she’s not alone. Not when she has me.

I shut that train of thought down fast and let my nearness to her do all the action for me. It will just have to do for both of us.

I hold the door and follow her sweet, tight young ass over the threshold of my home and turn the lock securing us inside for the evening.

Sensor lights flicker on to reveal a spacious open-style living area that seems to please her.

“I don’t have much furniture. Not a lot of time on my hands since moving here.”

“You don’t need a lot. Less is better, in my opinion. Too many people clutter their homes up with things that just collect dust.”

Her eyes are taking in everything as she turns in a slow circle. And I take in the real beauty. The thought of another man touching her kills me, and I’m not sure where that comes from all of a sudden.

“I had no idea being the dean of a university paid so well. I might need to rethink my life goals of becoming a lawyer.” She gives me an approving smile. Her sweet, soft laugh is filled with a nervous tenor, and there goes that damn need to wrap her in a shield of armor again.

“I take it you like the view?”

When they showed me this house, I instantly fell in love with the same view she can’t take her eyes off.

Beyond the full-length windows spanning the north side of my home is a valley coming to life after a harsh northern Maine winter. Greens of every shade you can think of. Professors Elliot and Samuel, my best friends, live on the other side of the valley facing me. They’ve recently found a new shared love with a student half their age, but just because it works for them doesn’t mean it will for me. I’m not into sharing what’s mine, but that’s not what this is about. Taking someone who has barely started their life and throwing them into the deep end of adulthood wouldn’t be fair. Not in my eyes. Layer on the fact I’m the dean and we’d both be slapped with rule books. Then after that humiliation, she’d lose her scholarship and me my job.

I might be one of the youngest deans Blackthorne has seen since being established almost sixty years ago, but the fact still remains I’m sixteen years her senior.

Me, I can handle the judgment that would come down on us and the punishment in its tow, but I’d never let that happen to Amber.

She turns and comes over to me eagerly, the softness of her hair brushing over my forearms where I’ve rolled my sleeves back. She’s so close that to kiss her, all I’d have to do is lean down and take. No, claim my inner voice screams.

She raises her gaze to mine and places her hands on my chest, the wetness of my shirt making the material stick to my skin. The sides of her lips tilt up. “Like it? I honestly can’t say I’ve ever seen something so beautiful. It’s breathtaking.”

Neither have I, but I’m not looking at trees right now.

Her expression lights up with a million stars in those pretty eyes and something inside me cracks.

I force myself to take a step back. “Let me show you something,” I lead the way through the sliding doors, and she follows me out onto the wrap-around deck.

Massive oaks and pines are bathed in the milky light of the moon below us but when the sun hits at high noon, that’s my favorite time. “You can see the long stretch of the river and all the nature one can take in from up here, but it’s the quiet that is the real treasure. Do you hear that? Not a horn or motor at all. There’s not a neighbor for miles around us either.” And that’s probably for the better, but I don’t bother saying so. She has enough to worry about without adding nosy ass people to the list.

But I’ll sleep better knowing there isn’t a soul out there that will be peeking over any fences to take back news I just walked one of my students through my front door.

“After years in LA and now college and all the hustle and bustle, it’s hard to think that there are places like this in the world.”

My eyes meet hers. “Indeed. Come. Follow me and let’s get you warm and dry.”

I turn and lead her upstairs to the one bedroom and bathroom with a shower. This place is the perfect bachelor pad with a deck, pool—the works—but not great for guests.

“After you’ve taken a shower and are warmed up, feel free to grab some clothes from my closet. T-shirts are in the top left drawer with sweats and socks under that. When you’re ready, come down and I’ll have something for you to eat.”

Her eyes are locked on the floor with her hands clutched together in front of her.

She nods. “Ok. I won’t be long.”

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